2017 Book of the Year and Book Reviews
 
I read some good books this year.  At the risk of sounding pretentious, I’ll share them with you, because many of you have enjoyed the recommendations in the past.  Some I was working on last year and may have shared twice.
 
My top 3 of 2017 were:
 
3) “The Soul of the World” by Roger Scruton
2) “Deskbound: Standing up to a Seated World” by Kelly Starrett
1) “Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture” by Anthony Esolen - * Book of the Year
 
The reason I chose Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture as book of the year is that it hits on so many themes and topics I’ve been thinking about and writing about more the last few years.  It’s almost like the author, Anthony Esolen, who is a professor of literature, was reading my mind.  I really do think American culture has sunk about as low as it can go.   Many of my readers are affluent so they are disconnected and insulated to a certain extent from it.  There are always going to be good things in decline in a culture, and we need people to criticize and lament those things.  But it’s also true that at certain times in history, entire civilizations fall apart, which is what is happening to our world and I credit Esolen for pointing this out. 
 
As he says in the first couple pages, the first step in recovery is to tell the truth, which as we all know is never easy.  Prophets are never popular in their time.  We don’t seem to have the energy to endure either our vices, or their cures.  The first step is to acknowledge this, and begin to rebuild.  This will start with community, which is one reason one of the main themes I’ve written about this year more than anything is finding a home, a community in the world where good things can happen.  Out of the Ashes covers just about everything, from music, to architecture, to sports, fitness, media, and education.  He is also a brilliant writer and the book contains many genius literary quotes, verses, passages, and references.  I highly recommend this book to inspire you out of a rut and into making positive changes, particularly if you are a leader. 

Many of my friends and people I know have completely given up, and have resigned themselves to doom and gloom and the continuing decline of our land.  I know where they're coming from, but I'm not ready to give up on America yet.  I love my country and I plan on trying to do my small part to help.  
 
These are the other books I read this year, with a short description. Books with an asterisk are ones I recommend for general reading, whereas some of the others may make your head spin:
 
The Soul of the World by Roger Scruton- This is a difficult read, which I convinced my book club to read, much to their chagrin.  The reason I love Scruton so much, who has become my favorite writer, is that he is a philosopher of home.  He writes primarily about making a home in the world and in my opinion alienation and a lack of home is the biggest health problem facing America.  This fantastic book really dives into what the soul is, and Scruton relates it to the way we understand art and music and then relates it back to home.  My life and the way I see things was forever changed for the better by this book. 
 
Deskbound: Standing up to a Seated World by Kelley Starett- Sitting is not good for us.  It’s bad for the spine, the neck, the digestive system, and it kills our posture.  This book is a textbook full of great information on sitting. 
 
Magna Carta by Dan Jones- Fun and interesting read about the history of the Magna Carta.
 
*Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink- The military mind, well-trained, is about getting the job done, and that is exactly what Navy Seal Jocko teaches.  No excuses.
 
*Shakespeare by Bill Bryson- Fun read about the Bard. 
 
TB12- Tom Brady’s exercise and fitness book.  This is a good book. Some of the science and terminology is spotty but overall the philosophy is good- as we get older we need to focus on flexibility, or what Brady calls pliability more and more each year. 
 
The Benedict Option by Rod Dreher- How to use principles of monasticism to build positive healthy communities. 
 
Childhood’s End by Arthur Clarke- A dystopia about what happens when people children stop reading… sound familiar?
 
The Road to Serfdom by Fredreich Hayek- After Hayek proved that socialism doesn’t work, and won a Nobel Prize with this book, you would think people would give up on it, but it always comes back.  Fantastic book. 
 
Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman- Self- explanatory title.  Free markets ensure free lives.
 
*The Suicide of the West by James Burnham-  This is one of the most influential books I’ve ever read.  Liberalism, is by default an ethos of suicide.  It makes more sense why the suicide rate would be increasing after you read this book written in the 60s.
 
The Mountain of Silence: The Search for Orthodox Spirituality by Kyriacos C. Markides- Perfect book to expand your mind into a more all-encompassing view of a mystical eastern Christianity.  The western mind does not like mystical, but this book explains how mysticism and experience are every bit as revealing as rationality.  Of particular benefit is the information in this book on fasting, for controlling addictions. 
 
A Free Peoples Suicide by Os Guiness -  I read this last year, I believe but reviewed it this year because of Guiness’s “Triangle of freedom”- Faith, Freedom, & Virtue.  Virtue leads to freedom, faith requires freedom.  Virtue requires faith in something larger than yourself. 
 
4 Hour Body by Tim Ferris- Tim Ferris is a bit of a huckster, but there are some jewels of information in here. 
 
Confirmed to His Image by Ken Boa-  Ken gave me this book after we became friends and it Is excellent.  It’s a textbook of ideas on how to have a healthier spiritual life.  Highly recommended. 
 
That Distant Land by Wendell Berry- Berry is a southern agrarian and this is an excellent collection of short stories about Kentucky.
 
Philosophy- Simple and illustrated textbook about philosophy. 
 
A Secular Age by Charles Taylor- I listened to this book by audiobook in 2017 and 2018 because it’s considered THE definitive source on how the world went from being explicitly religious to secular.  It’s a very interesting book, difficult, but rewarding.  One of the biggest things I learned was how disincarnate physical matter has become, or how disenchanted the modern world is.  Whereas religious people of all tribes and eras have been in close contact with the cosmos and the enchantedness of natural physical things, our secular age is not. 
 
How Not to be Secular by James KA Smith- This is a basically a simpler version, or a manual of Taylor’s book, about how to re-enchant the world.  This book makes A Secular Age come alive and makes it more user-friendly for those who want to go deeper spiritually than what the age offers. 
 
Zero to One by Peter Theil-  Fantastic business book, particularly if you are in the Tech field. 
 
The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating by David Buss- I don’t think another book I’ve ever read describes better the reasons why people make the decisions they make, particularly in an age where people are encouraged to seek instant gratification.  The question is, what causes them to transcend their urges.  This is a great book, but needs a follow up read to the follow up question. 
 
Social Justice Warriors Always Lie by Vox Day- Great little book describing the psychological manipulations people try to play on others in our era of identity politics.  SJWs are synonymous with “Crybullies”.  They don’t want a serious debate, they just want to attack.
 
The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield- I’ve read this about 5 times, and try to re-read it every so often because it’s such a great book.
 
*The Soul's Upward Yearning: Clues to Our Transcendent Nature from Experience and Reason by Robert Spitzer- For anyone who likes philosophy, it’s hard to beat Robert Spitzer’s books.  He’s a lawyer, a priest, and an astrophysicist.  This is a science textbook which reads like a great work of philosophy. 
 
*Anglo Saxon Community in Lord of the Rings by Deborah Higgens- This was fascinating to learn about, because there were roughly 10 motifs by which the old Anglo Saxon writers used to build community, things like speeches, toasts, dancing, fires, etc.
 
*Letters to Malcom: On Prayer By CS Lewis- Lewis is one of the few writers I’ve ever read who I can say was without a doubt a genius because of his philosophical insights.  This book explains prayer in a way I never thought about, particularly regarding time, or to be exact how prayer exists outside of time.
 
Augustine to Frued By Ken Boa-  This was Dr. Boa’s dissertation at Oxford, which he converted into a book.  It’s a little dry, but gives a great overview of many of the most important thinkers.  I am still finishing this one slowly but I have really enjoyed it so far.
 
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Tom Woods- Having grown up with a lot of anti-Catholic prejudice, like most Americans, I was unaware of how wrong I was about the Roman Catholic Church.  Most all the foundations of our society were built by them and most of the criticisms are perhaps warranted but exaggerated.
 
The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews Under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain by Dario Fernandez- Morera- Political correctness and Marxist ideology tells us that the Catholic church was awful and that Muslims can basically do no wrong, but this author points out what life was really like in Medieval Spain under Muslim rule.  Hint- not very good, unless you converted to Islam.
 
*The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker- I highly recommend this book, and it is basically the classic example of how to manage time and priorities. 
 
Fast Metabolism Diet-  Someone gave me this book, and I learned a lot about hidden health costs of certain foods.  The recommended plan itself is way too complicated but the book is an excellent resource. 
 
The New Evolution Diet- Excellent read about the “paleo” way of eating by the economist and researcher who popularized the method.  A little dogmatic, but still an excellent introduction to fasting and regulating blood sugar. 
 
The Roger Scruton Reader- very few writers could I say changed my life, maybe only one, and it’s Roger Scruton.  This series of essays covers everything from architecture, to music, to politics, wine, and culture.  Roger Scruton is a renowned philosopher, and one of his main themes is a love of home and place, and I think that’s why his work resonates so much with me.  This is a wisdom-packed little book of essays. 
 
The Moviegoer- By Walker Percy, this novel won an award for book of the year when it came out.  I really enjoyed it and it appealed to my personality, though I could see how some might find it slow. 


Boys in the Boat- by Daniel James Brown, it’s the inspirational true story of the 1936 US Olympic rowing team.  Great parallels with Movement & Meaning because rowing gave these boys the structure they needed in their lives. 
 
The Divided Mind- Dr. John Sarno, discussing the psychosomatic causes of pain.  Low on hard evidence, but some good insight into the hidden causes of pain
 
Navy Seals Training Manual- Good cross-training workouts. 
 
The Story of England- Concise history of England with beautiful artwork and photographs. 
 
Preventative Medicine: The Rational Male- I wish I had had Rollo Tamasi’s books when I was younger, because I don’t think anyone out there has correctly diagnosed the challenges that men in America face better than him.  I recommend all my younger male readers to read his books.  You may not agree with everything he says, but they may save your life. 
 
I love to read, and hope you share with me some books you’ve enjoyed this year!

Scott
 
Read Next:  How to Live Longer

“You Can’t Have a Good Policy When You Can’t Have a Good Debate.” – Roger Scruton
 
I’m re-reading a great book right now called “Tribe: On Homecoming & Belonging” which I recommend if you haven’t read it.  What is fascinating about the stories in the book, is how alienating and socially isolating America has become.  We truly are a fractured society, especially in comparison to tribal cultures.  When I was reading the book, I kept thinking about how little sense the public discourse makes now and II’ve been thinking about this for several years. 
 
One reason I don’t discuss politics with people outside of my inner circle of close friends, is that to do so would be irrational.  I hold no ill will for people whom I disagree with politically, and I really like many of them, but at the same time, if I don’t know someone’s deep metaphysical outlook on the nature of life, it isn’t fruitful or logical to discuss anything political.  It would be like trying to play checkers with someone who is playing chess- different beginning, different roles, different rules, and a different “telos” or end, as Aristotle would say. 
 
The US Constitution and Declaration of Independence both state that the individual’s “rights” come from the creator, and it was under this dialectic framework that America successfully improved race relations up through the changes in the 1960s.  We white and mostly Christian Americans rightly came to see from our own anthropological and moral framework that every person, of any race, was viewed as equal under the law, and deemed to have dignity since conception by the creator, regardless of background, race, or circumstance.  Not because of who their parents were, but because they were children of the creator- no one could take away the rights they were created with.
 
Unfortunately, since the 1970s, some of the legislation about the nature of life has changed that dialectic framework, and I’m afraid the outcome has not been good when it comes to positive cultural dialogue.  If I believe that people are created by God, and someone else doesn’t, we are not going to have a rational discussion about the nature of life because we are already starting out with a flawed anthropology- who we are, what’s important, and where we’re going, and want to go.  If we are not created by a higher power, then we are only material objects, and the people in power, left or right, get to say what is “right.” Might makes right. 
 
Perhaps if we were thrown together in a survival scenario we would all 370 million get along, like a football team gets along to win, because we’d have a clear goal, but during peacetime without a common goal, there is not much commonality when the anthropologies vary wildly or as in most cases have not even been thought through. 
 
What we are experiencing in the US, and in western cultures, is an anthropological collapse, and it’s been slowly building for about 50 years and I’ve slowly watched it happen over my lifetime.  Another way of saying this would be to say that we’re having an identity crisis.  Another way of seeing this, or saying this, would be to say that we are undergoing a cultural suicide, and many have said it.  The book ‘Suicide of the West’ comes to mind. 

What is fascinating is how growing material affluence and wealth and cultural changes have all corresponded clearly with an increase in mental health challenges in America- from depression, anxiety, to suicide, you name it.  They have all increased.  Even immigrants who move here have higher mental illness once they come.  Our only anthropology for the moment is that we don’t have one.  We actively refuse to have one.  
 
I don’t have all the answers, but community is one big one, probably the biggest.  When we agree on the basic rules, and the nature of things, first things, then we can get on with our discussion and form a larger community and have good policies.  Until then, our energies are best left to other pursuits and to building up our own cultures within the larger anti-culture. 
 
Regardless, building any form of healthy community, no matter how small, is always better than no community. 

Read Next: Brain & Mind Dangers & Boosters 

52 Weeks to Eating Better than Ever
Category: Strategies
 
Eat More Fiber
 
One of the simplest and easiest ways to eat better, feel better, and to lose or control weight is to eat more fiber.  This simple technique really is one of the absolute best things you can do to maintain health and a healthy weight over a lifetime for several reasons. 
 
One, fiber makes you feel full, so it prevents you from overeating. 
 
Two, fiber takes time to consume, in most cases, so it tricks you into thinking that you’re eating more than you are.
 
Three, high fiber foods often contain a lot of bulk and so they can hydrate you as well. 
 
Four, high fiber foods help to control your blood sugar level and energy, as well as your cholesterol. 
 
Five, fiber is contained only in plants, and plant-based diets are generally healthier than animal-based diets.
 
Six, insoluble fiber promotes regularity of bowel movements. 
 
 
There are two types of fiber- insoluble or soluble, though most fiber-rich foods have both.  Insoluble fiber can be found in many whole-grains, bran, oats, vegetables, and fruit with skin.  Soluble fiber dissolves when added to water and is gel-like, slowing down the movement of food through the small intestine.  Sources are things like peas, beans, apples, and citrus fruits.  Soluble fiber is thought to lower cholesterol by reducing LDL cholesterol. 
 
Men need to shoot for 25-30 grams of fiber per day, and women 20-25 grams, whereas the average American gets much less. 
 
This secret little tip can almost single-handedly change your life, because the typical diet has so little fiber.  The key is to focus on eating more fiber daily, so you’ll feel full, keep your blood sugar steady, and eat less overall!

---------
Like the blog? Pass it on!

P.S. This is part of a year-long process to eat better than ever, once and for all.  Click on the side bar to read previous posts and sign up to get each post in the series.  
 
 Read Next: Fitness From the Inside Out Models

I know for those of you who have little interest in the food side of things, these posts may get repetitive this year.  But a quick glance couldn't hurt, and I will still be mixing in some posts on various other topics. Plus, imagine quickly reading 52 essays on eating healthy by the end of the year.  By the end of the year, you will have covered everything!

I just want all of us to really eat well this year.
Enjoy..

52 Weeks to Eating Better Than Ever - Consumption
 
Average Meal Size
 
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way.  The average meal size is way too big in America.   I eat reasonably healthy, probably much better than the average American, which unfortunately isn’t saying much.  But even though I try to eat well and do for the most part, I still struggle to regulate portion sizes.  That’s because everything is bigger in America!  No seriously, it is.
 
I have traveled a lot in my short 40 years, and I can tell you that everything really is bigger here.  Our roads are bigger, our shopping malls are bigger, our cars are bigger, and our meals are bigger too.   Everything is larger in the United States.  Our economic blessings and success makes it harder for us restrain how much we eat at any given time.
 
Let’s look at an example. If I’m driving to the beach in Florida from Atlanta and want to stop and eat, I can stop and eat at Waffle House, McDonald’s, Cracker Barrel, or any other number of chain restaurants.  Or I can eat at a local restaurant, which might taste better and be healthier.  But regardless of where I stop, the portion sizes are all going to be the same – HUGE.  And if the portion size is not HUGE I am going to be disappointed, because that’s what I’m accustomed to, and this is true even though I am very aware of eating healthy.  If my meal is not big, I will be disappointed. 
 
Briefly consider these facts:

• The average American consumed approximately 2000 calories in 1960, and approximately 2590 in 2010.

• Most Americans are much less active now than they were in 1960.

• 3500 extra calories will equal one pound of fat gain, so the extra 600 calories we eat per day compared to 1960 could potentially lead to (600 x 7 = 4200, 4200 x 52 = 62 Pounds) 62 pounds of fat gain!

• From 1960 to 2008, the obesity rate in US adults increased from 13 to 34 percent.

• The average meal in a restaurant can easily contain 1000 calories or more. 

• In the 1960s, normal food plates were roughly 9 inches around. In the 1980s, they were about 10 inches and by the year 2000, the average plate was 11 inches in diameter, and now, it’s not unusual to find some even bigger than that!

• Most serving sizes should be about the size of a golf ball or baseball, whereas we consume portion sizes the size of softballs, or even footballs!

 
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service & the CDC.

Little things add up quickly.  One of the most important factors in eating healthy is the size of portions.  We all know basically that we tend to eat too much, but restricting portion sizes is a difficult task because we’re so accustomed to overeating.  If the average American should eat 1500-2000 Calories per day, then each meal of 3 meals should not be more than 500-700 calories, which compared to what we normally eat is not much food. 
 
The key is eating the most quality food you can to make those calories count, which is why quality is one of the 5 main categories of eating better than ever.  Before anything else, be aware of and start working on your portion sizes and remember to go for golf ball size or baseball size portions, not softball or football size.   That way we don’t carry around a basketball, if you know what I mean!
 

​
Like the Blog? Pass it on!

Read Next: 52 Weeks to Eating Better Than Ever